Dual Cultivation God Returns-Chapter 596 Because I am here

Wu Long sat on the throne, with a beauty sitting on his lap, leaning her head on his left shoulder and her hand raised to rest on the right one.

After a month of cultivating on the ship with his women, and now taking Nie Xiwang's Pure Yin Qi and all of her Yin Qi of a peak Mortal Transcendence Realm cultivator, all the while refining the rich Spiritual Qi of the Secret Realm instead of the one filling the Three Continents, his cultivation has crossed the watershed barrier and reached the 7th level of Core Formation Realm, as his core now more and more resembled one solid sphere.

His left hand was around the waist of the Blade Empress, his right hand caressing her thigh in the white stocking.

"So I am finally free..."

She stated, her voice full of relief and joy, as well as the slight melancholy as she reminisced about the time she spent chained to this throne by the necessity, both protected and burdened by its authority.

"Mm"

He simply softly nodded, as she closed her eyes and snuggled a little deeper into his embrace, listening to the rhythm of his heart that made her comfortable and reassured.

The atmosphere in this silent Throne Room was tranquil and peaceful, and even though it contrasted with the hot passion and loudness before, it did not feel hollow.

Rather, it felt full of warmth and coziness.

"What will happen now?", she asked after a long period of this comfortable silence, opening her eyes and looking up.

"Haha, nothing much, I will take you away from this palace", he chuckled as he turned his calm gaze to her.

"But... the palace... and the people...", Nie Xiwang lightly clenched his robe that she was holding, feeling slightly guilty about feeling so relieved to hear those words.

"You now know more than you did before, so you know you were not really the one controlling this country. The one who did was always that Minister Du, along with the other two but those are scarecrows.

It was this way both before you came to the throne, and after. So nothing will change"

Wu Long raised his hand and touched her hair, pushing a lock that unraveled from her hairstyle from covering her face to the side and tucked it behind her ear.

"You just have to abdicate the throne in favor of the Nie family ancestor or the previous Emperor, whomever you wish, and everything will run the same as it did before your time.

Though there might be some Imperial Family members who might want to take revenge on you, that is of no consequence"

He chuckled, as a worried look appeared in her eyes.

"If that was the case, I would have rather fled the palace after my revenge, than took the throne.

What made me cling to the authority of the Empress and the protection this throne gave is not the flies who cannot do anything against me, and not even the ancestor, but a much, much scarier force that part of the Imperial Family has ties to.

It is different from the Wood Spirit Senior, and..."

She shook her head, her hand involuntarily clenching Wu Long's robe as her words trailed off.

He gently put his hand over hers, the warmth of his palm and the comfortable feeling it gave making hers relax as he gently smiled.

"I know. Doesn't matter, I can deal with that too", he replied in a lighthearted tone.

"Deal with it? But...", she widened her eyes.

"Haha, to be honest I was going to deal with it even without this, so you don't need to worry about it", Wu Long made a light laugh, tapping the tip of her nose with the tip of his index finger.

"H-How can I not be worried? Since you know about the Wood Spirit Senior and many other things, you must know..."

"That they have Transcendents behind them? I do. That doesn't change anything though", Wu Long chuckled, as he finished her words and then shook his head with a fatally attractive for her confidence.

"...", she stared at him with wide eyes, and seeing that, his smile widened as he leaned in to whisper into her ear.

"You wonder why there are no news from the Azure Eagle Continent? It is so that those you are talking about don't know that the Alchemy Tower is no more, all but two of the Transcendents on their side dead, including the Tower Master", his words made Nie Xiwang mind blank as she could not process them.

As he leaned back, she was staring into his eyes, trying to figure out if he was joking, but saw only a sincere look.

"But how...?", fell from her lips almost involuntarily.

"There is a lot you will learn about me, and a lot you will have to get used to, but let's take it gradually, there is no rush. For now, just know that there is no threat from those you feared before, because I am here", Wu Long made a light smile, speaking in a hushed, soothing tone.

The final phrase he spoke reverberated in her mind, as her eyes filled with yet reluctant and wavering, but growing relief and comfort.

In this moment, within her view, he became a giant that shielded her from any worries, putting her up high on his shoulder where no harm could reach her, a stronghold that made her safe.

This was a feeling she longed for so long, and so desperately, first as she fended for herself as an illegitimate child in the Imperial Family, and then as she sat on the throne made of daggers pointed at her, always amid cold stares, always amid enemies, all alone with no friends or allies, with no one to trust or rely on.

As she learned to be strong amid all that, to surround herself with blades that shielded her from the outside, she still yearned for it, for the day to come when she would be kept safe by someone, protected, cuddled and... loved.

She burrowed into his chest as he wove both hands around her, tightly embracing her, enveloping her in this sensation that she never got to experience before.